Bending Academy: Year 1
by AppleBloom
Summary: A boarding school that teaches how to bend. Can Katara learn the skills she needs and fit in? Can she choose the right man in this desperate love triangle?
1. Chapter 1: Harsh Morning

**YEAH MY FIRST FANFIC EVER! LOOK OUT FANFICTION WORLD! **

**Please review or I won't know if I should continue or not. READ DAT? IF YOU WANT MORE CHAPTERS I WANT MORE REVIEWS!**

**Kai so this is an AU where the air nation wasn't killed off and stuff.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Bending Academy. Where everyone with bending abilities go to learn the skills they need to become masters. Students spend five years at this boarding school and then are ready to face the world as powerful benders. The school is broken up into four tribes, each one representing one of the four elements: Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.<p>

"Tell me more about it, Sokka!" Katara yelled to her brother.

Sokka, who was packing his bag, responded without looking at her. "I've told you about my first year at Bending Academy during the entire summer, Katara! Why can't you just be patient and see what it's like for yourself? We are going tomorrow, y'know."

Katara sighed happily and threw herself on the bed. "I know, but I'm just so excited! I wanna hear all about it! The school, the teachers, the bending techniques! I can't believe I actually get to go! My very first year..." She lost herself in her thoughts as her brother shook his head.

"Yeah well, you'd better stop daydreaming and start packing. A school year is a long time, you'd better make sure you get everything you need."

She rolled off the bed slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She opened up her bag and started rummaging through her drawers. "I wonder what kind of friends I'll make?"

Sokka sighed. "You're hopeless."

"I wonder if I'll be part of the Water Tribe like you are, Sokka."

"I'm sure you will be. You've been able to manipulate water on your own since you were little. I wasn't able to do it at all until I got to school." Katara nodded, her eyes dancing. Sokka continued. "Anyway, they make all the first years take a test to see which Tribe they'll belong in. And since you can already work with water, you'll get in Water Tribe for sure."

"I just cannot wait!" She shrieked.

Sokka covered his ears and sighed. "Me either. Then you'll shut up."

* * *

><p>Katara's night was sleepless. It felt like it would never end, but eventually the sun did rise. She squealed excitedly, eating her breakfast as quickly as she could.<p>

"Katara, dear, slow down! You're going to choke!" Her mother said tenderly.

"Can't help it, Mom!" She said in mid-gulp.

Sokka shook his head as his father walked through the door. "Well, all of the suitcases have been loaded into the boat. We'll take you in the boat until we hit the main land, where you'll board a train to go the rest of the way." Her father said.

"Yay!" Katara, now done with breakfast, jumped up from the table and out the front door. "I'll be in the boat!"

Her family collectively shook their heads.

The boat ride was long. Too long. All Katara could do was jump up and down in her seat. "Are we there yet? What about now? Now?"

Just as her family was at their breaking point, the boat reached the main land. They loaded up their stuff into the train, and the kids said goodbye to their parents. Their parents waved to them as the train pulled away, until they were out of sight.

"We're finally on our way! This is it!" Katara said excitedly to her brother, but was surprised to find him walking away from her. "Hey, where are you going?" She asked after him.

He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her. "I'm going to go find my friends from last year. I haven't seen them all summer."

"But what about me? I don't have anyone to sit with!"

"There are tons of people here. Go find someone who is a first year too." He said as he walked away.

Katara sighed. "Stupid Sokka." She mumbled as she walked into the first train car that had an empty seat. Inside sat a beautiful young girl, with brown hair in a bun sitting on top of her head. She sneered at Katara as she sat down."Uh...hello." Katara said, as friendly as she could manage.

"Nice clothes." The girl sneered again. Katara looked down at her outfit. It was her regular outfit. She'd worn it forever. Her family weren't poor, but they weren't rich either. They didn't have a lot of money to spend on amazing clothes that the girl sitting next to her was wearing. Katara's cheeks grew hot and her eyes fell to the floor. The girl laughed. "I'd cry too if I were caught in clothes like that."

"Azula!" A tall, pale girl scolded at her as she walked into the car. She was dressed in amazing and expensive clothes too, Katara noticed. "Picking on people already?"

The mean girl, Azula, sneered again. "What of it, Mai? It's my first year, and I was hoping I'd find people like me around here. But all I've seen is her."

Katara had enough. She stood up and walked right out of the car. She shut the door behind her and sighed, tears in her eyes. She hadn't even gotten to the school yet, and she was already humiliated. What if all the kids were like this? Her heart sank, and she wished she were back at home.


	2. Chapter 2: A New Friend

**POOR KATARA! It's so hard to fit in :( Thanks for the ONE review: YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! And to the rest of you who lurk on this, read it, and then DON'T review: I shall hunt your account down, read all your stories, and then NOT REVIEW! HA! See how you like it! **

**Spoiler: You won't. **

* * *

><p>The train pulled into the station slowly. Katara sighed. She had started the day so happy and excited, and now all of that was ruined. She had dreamed of this day for so long, and now her feelings were hurt! How could she walk into the school in these old clothes?<p>

Once the train came to a complete stop, the doors to the cars swung open and kids spilled out into the walkways, grabbing their bags and making their way to the platform. The door to the car behind of Katara opened, and Azula shoved her to the side. "Peh, watch where you stand!" Azula snapped and walked off. Katara could feel tears well up in her eyes.

The train whistle blew, indicating that every person needed to be off of it. Katara wiped her eyes, grabbed her bag, and quickly jumped off. She searched the crowd for her brother, but couldn't find him. Everyone was climbing into carriages that would take them up to the school; perhaps he had already climbed into one. Katara shielded her eyes from the sun and glanced upward. Standing before her was a huge mountain, looming over the entire area. Toward the top of the mountain stood the school, a very large building with an Eastern style to it. Torches were lit around the road going up the mountain, welcoming the new students. Seeing the large building and vast mountain that lay before her, Katara suddenly felt very, very small. As other kids pushed around her to get into carriages, Katara felt like she was so tiny, she was invisible. She swallowed, feeling a hard lump in her throat.

Feeling awkward, she waited around until most of the kids had left, making it easier to find an empty carriage. She climbed in and sat down on one of the seats. She put her elbow on the window ledge and looked up toward the school. She was dreading going up there. She wasn't pretty, she didn't have nice clothes, she never was very smart. How could she ever feel at home here?

Just as the carriage door was closing, a small girl pushed the door open and climbed in. She had straight, shoulder length brown hair with a red stripe going through it. She sat in the seat across from Katara and sighed. Katara stared out the window, pretending to day dream so she wouldn't have to acknowledge the new girl. The girl dug through her bag, picked out a book, and began to look through it. She turned the pages furiously, pretending to read. Katara smiled to herself. This girl was pretending to be busy to avoid awkward social interactions, just as she was doing. Maybe Katara wasn't the only one to feel out of place.

She looked over to the girl, still turning the pages way too quickly to be reading them. Katara hesitated, but figured she had nothing to lose, and made small talk. "So, big building, huh? I wasn't expecting it to be this large."

The girl looked up at her, paused, and then nodded her head in response. "Yeah...it's big all right." She then lowered her head back to her book.

"So, uh, what're you reading?" Katara asked, trying to be polite. If she could save this day by just making one friend, she would feel so much better.

The girl lifted her head from her book once more, this time making eye contact with her. "The Elements of Harmony. A Reference Guide."

"Oh! I think I've read that one! Isn't it about how all of the elements work together with one person?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, the Avatar." She smiled. "So you like to read?"

"I sure do! My name's Katara." She said, smiling back at her and holding out her hand.

The girl closed her book and put her hand in Katara's. "I'm Terra Spark."

A wave of relief washed over Katara immediately. Her smile had grown so wide, it reached her ears. "This your first year?"

"Yeah." Twilight said. "You too?"

"Mhmm." Katara nodded, then blushed. "I'm a little nervous."

"Oh me too! Everyone on the train seemed to avoid me. I was beginning to regret that I came."

Katara laughed. "You and me both."

The carriage had pulled up to the entrance and stopped. Katara and Terra picked up their bags and stepped out. They were greeted with large stone steps that lead up to two red wooden doors. They slowly ascended up them. They opened the doors and stepped into the marble halls. The sight of the building took their breath away. There were large red pillars reaching toward the ceiling, and multiple marble stair cases that lead to different areas. The room was echoing with the voices of excited students, and the crowd in front of them was getting rowdy.

Just then, a tall, lean, middle aged man walked down the stairs from the right. His hair was lightly peppered with grey, and he wore thin frames around his eyes. Terra blushed when she saw him. "Everyone!" He cried out and all of the students turned to face him. "I'd like to welcome you all to Bending Academy! I'm one of your teachers, Mr. Takamichi! I'm here to lead you all to where you should be." The students kept quiet as he talked. "Returning students will know what dorm they belong to, and I ask that they take their belongings and head there immediately to unpack. First years are to leave their stuff in the front hall and follow me to the testing grounds."

Katara gulped. A test? This soon? But they just arrived! Her heart began to beat. This must be the test they make you take to determine what kind of bender you are! She was nervous, but also very excited. She had been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time. Now was the time to figure out who she would become. But there was hardly a doubt in her mind. Katara would go to the water tribe. She would be a water bender.

She glanced over at Terra, who was still looking at Mr. Takamichi. She nudged her gently. Terra snapped out of her reverie. "Huh?" She asked dumbly.

"Terra, what are you doing?"Katara whispered to her new friend.

"N-Nothing!" She stammered, but Katara kept looking at her. She sighed. "Okay. I was just thinking how dreamy he is."

Katara giggled. "The teacher? Really? But he's so old!"

"I can't help it..." Terra sighed dreamily.

As the older students took the different staircases to their respective dorms, the front hall emptied out with only the first years still standing in it. "All right, students! Now that there's room to follow me, please do so! We are walking to the back!" His loud voice echoed across the halls, ensuring that every student heard it. He turned around and walked toward the back. The remaining students followed after him.

"What kind of bender do you think you'll be?" Katara asked her friend, hoping that they'd be in the same tribe.

"I have no idea." Terra shook her head. "I've never been able to do any kind of bending before."

"I wonder how this test works..." Katara said as they stepped outside. Before them lay a large arena with seven foot tall walls made of packed earth surrounding it. The ground was bare earth, and on each side, in the corner, were two small ponds. The entire crowd kept silent, unprepared for what they were going to face. Takamichi stepped before them.

"Everyone, this is the first year testing grounds. Each year has their own testing ground, which is built to accommodate their skill levels." He explained. "Today, we are going to jump right in to testing, to see where you all belong, and where you'll be sleeping tonight." He grinned.

Katara gulped again, her heart beginning to flutter. She felt the nervousness come back to her. This was it.


End file.
